Protecting Love
by tinybit92
Summary: Sequel to Family Ties. Knuckles and Rouge are building a wonderful relationship. But when Rouge doesn't come home from work one day, Knuckles knows exactly who's responsible. He's not letting anyone hurt the one he loves.
1. Stupid Work

_Da-dadada-dadaaaaaah! I bring you the third installment in my Knouge trilogy. I know you all have been waiting and I finally found my muse. Stupid thing was hiding under my bed. Anyway, enjoy._

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Rouge lounged peacefully on the couch, stretching and yawning before snuggling into the warm lump of fur and muscle whose arms she was in. She and Knuckles had been watching a movie the night before and fell asleep in each other's arms. The bat rolled over to face him and smiled at the peaceful look he had as he slept. She placed a kiss on his nose before repositioning to continue her nap. Unfortunately an alarm beeped at her.

Rouge pulled back her glove to look at her watch. "Damn." She muttered irritably. She had to leave for work. She moved to get up, only to have the arms around her tighten.

"Where do you think you're going?" Knuckles said playfully as her pulled her closer.

She giggled. "Good morning Knucky." She planted a quick kiss on his lips before continuing. "I have to go to work."

"Aw man." Knuckles whined as she disentangled herself from his arms. "I wish you could just stay here."

"I know, but Shadow can't function on missions without me. And don't get me started on Omega." She walked to her room to get changed while he woke his muscles with a stretch.

"Yeah, a depressed hedgehog and a homicidal robot probably shouldn't be left unsupervised."

"You see where I put my shoes?" She asked coming back down the hall.

"Yeah," he said sitting up. "They're over by th- Shit!" He jumped when he notice she hadn't put a clean shirt on yet and was wearing only a bra on her upper half.

Rouge laughed at him as she picked up her shoes. "What's wrong? Never seen a bra before?"

Her red-faced boyfriend couldn't cover up his stare as he spoke. "No, you leave those lying around all the time. I just haven't seen this much of you before." He cursed his hormones as his eyes continued to roam.

"Well," She said as she slipped the shoes on. "Maybe I'll walk around here shirtless more often then." She winked at him as she turned back to her room to find a top.

He coughed before shouting. "I noticed that white patch on your back you were talking about."

Rouge laughed as she came back out fully clothed. "There we go, break out of that awkward shell."

He came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. "I really wish you could stay." He whispered into her sensitive ear, sending a pleasant chill down her spine. "But I know you can't. I had fun last night though."

"Yeah," She muttered as she turned in his arms to face those vibrant purple eyes she loved. "I'll have to do that more often."

"What" He chuckled. "Watch movies with me?"

"No," She whispered back. "Fall asleep in your arms."

His favorite batgirl smiled serenely as his blush returned with a vengeance.

She kissed him gently before heading for the door. "See you after work babe."

"Yeah, see you." He called before the door closed. After she had left he turned back to the couch, dropped onto it like a rock and thanked Chaos that he hadn't had a nosebleed through all of that.

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_Yay, the first chapter in what I hope becomes a good story. And fortunately, my grammar has improved since the last installment. You know the drill, leave a review to tell me what you think. They may not be required, but they make me happy, and my happiness is my muse's caffeine. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to be at school in...6 and half hours... and I need half an hour to get ready... yeeeeeaaaahh. Goodnight!_


	2. He's Baaaack

_Bwaaargh! 'Bout time I updated this! X( BUT, it's done. Here's chapter 2, Sorry, no Knux in this one. But Shadow's here if you are one of his fangirls. Enjoy!_

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Rouge dropped into a chair at the base with a sigh. "Honestly, I should kill the both of you," she huffed at her teammates.

"Illogical. Shadow is immortal. I can not be killed. Only disassembled."

Shadow laughed at Omega's response while rouge glared. "He has a point. Besides, we got the chip didn't we?"

"Yes, but I would have much preferred if we hadn't almost been blown up in the retrieval process." Rouge ran a hand through her short hair, trying to get the tangles out from their rushed exit. "Unlike you two, I'm _not _indestructible. And if something were to happen to me, Knuckles would 'disassemble' the both of you, immortal or not."

"Ha, I'd believe that. If anyone could figure out how to destroy an indestructible being with brute force, it would be Knuckles." Shadow tossed the computer chip they'd retrieved in the air and caught it again.

"I don't know whether that should be taken as an insult or a compliment. And why do you always do that?"

"Do what?"

"Toss around whatever's in your hand. You do it with the chaos emeralds all the time."

Shadow arched an eyebrow. "Do I? Hadn't noticed. Restless habit I suppose. Where is the general?"

"Right here agent Shadow." The GUN general entered from the far door with his usual frown. "I see you three did as a good a job as always." He walked over to Shadow and held out his hand. The Ultimate Life Form placed it neatly in his palm without hesitation.

"We always do our best sir." Shadow said with a salute.

Rouge scoffed. "Yeah right Shad, if you did your best things would likely explode."

"True. And for the millionth time, don't call me Shad."

"This is why you're my favorite unit," the general said as he examined the chip with his good eye. "You do the best work, and you have a good time doing it."

"Always easier to come to work when you enjoy your job sir," Rouge said with a smile.

"Not so easy when you have to leave your boyfriend though." Shadow gave her a mischievous grin as he spoke.

She sighed. "Yeah, he was being pretty cute this morning too." She stared wistfully at the wall.

The streaked hedgehog chuckled. "You have the best love-struck expression."

"I can't help it." The bat grinned broadly, clearly unashamed.

"Word does not compute. I do not understand this 'love' you speak of." Omega never moved as he vocalized his confusion.

"It's just another emotion Omega. We never have been able to explain them to you." Shadow was used to explaining things to the robot, but emotions never "computed" with him.

"Maybe we should leave him with Amy for a while, I hear she's pretty good at teaching robots emotion," Rouge said jokingly.

"That's because she's a bubbling fountain of emotion." Shadow rolled his eyes at the thought. "It's endearing, but still annoying sometimes."

"Well team, this chip looks good." Their boss finally spoke. "Another successful job, you can go home."

"Oh wonderful," Rouge said hopping up from her chair. "Now I can go home and snuggle my Knucky."

Shadow sighed and rolled his eyes. "Completely smitten. See you next time general. Come on Omega."

They all exited the building together, stepping out into the busy city with cars and people rushing by.

"Well, Omega and I have an evil scientist to track down, so we'll see you later Rouge."

"Good luck with that, though you really should leave it to Sonic."

"Pff. Sorry, but I'd rather not leave the fate of the world in the hands of that moron. Omega and I can take care of the doctor much more efficiently."

"Whatever you say. But he's still the expert." She winked and walked away in the direction of the shore. It was a few miles away, but her ultrasonic hearing could still pick up the sound of the waves.

Continuing down the street, her ears picked up something else. There was someone about thirty feet behind her, who's pace and direction had matched hers for over a mile. Could be coincidence, but the feeling of eyes on her back discouraged that thought. Rouge quickly dodged into an ally to her left and counted out the sound of the footsteps, tensing as they approached her position. Sure enough, someone came into the ally after her. Rouge pulled out her GUN issue stun gun, but wasn't fast enough for her assailant, who put one hand at her throat and the other on the wrist of her armed hand, slamming her to the wall and making her drop the weapon.

"Quick Rouge, but not quick enough."

"Shit!" She shouted in surprise. Staring at her was the greasy black furred cat Slick, a malicious smirk on his face. "Why is the only person who's ever beaten me in a fight the one who wants to kill me?" She tried to sound irritated rather than terrified.

"Just your luck I guess. Can't tell you how long I've been waiting to catch you without your little guard dogs around."

"So what, you've been stalking me?"

"When you're not on Angel Island, yes."

"Well, I guess I shouldn't be surprised. But you'll have to try again some other time grease stain." With that, she kicked him hard in the shin with her steel tipped boots. He grunted and let her go. Rouge scrambled quickly away, but was stopped when he picked up her stun gun and used it on one of her retreating legs.

Crying out in pain Rouge dropped to the ground with her body aching from the electric shock.

Slick laughed as he walked up next to her. "Gee, talk about irony. Disabled by your own weapon."

Rouge grunted in frustration, but couldn't get her muscles to move due to the shock. Well, she couldn't get them to move the way she wanted. She was instead having involuntary muscle spasms.

"I guess that's what they mean when they say these things disrupt you brain's control to your muscles." Slick commented at the sight. "Now, how high do I need adjust this thing to knock you out?"

_Shit!_ Rouge thought. Those things could kill a person if you turned it up to high.

"Eh, I'll just move it up one level." Thank goodness he wasn't that stupid. "Nighty-night." Slick said patronizingly before stunning her again.

Grunting again, since that was all she could manage, Rouge sure enough felt herself slipping out of consciousness. This could not end well.

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_Bleh, don't like the end of this chapter, it just doesn't feel quite right. But it'll get better. Tell me what you , I don't know if you actually can adjust the voltage on a stun gun, but let's just say you can with the GUN ones. I'm gonna keep writing this before my muse runs away again. Oh, and I just dropped part of a drawer on my foot, so excuse me while I ice it and scream profanities._


	3. Threats All Around

_Haha! Next chappie is done. Frankly, 90% of it was done a couple months ago, but I had some block on how to close out the chapter. Enjoy!_

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Knuckles sat back and watched the news with a bored expression. The large window in his house allowed him to see that the Master Emerald was untouched without having to sit outside all day. That wasn't what he was really thinking about though. It was 8pm and Rouge wasn't home yet. She was usually back by now. Or at least would've called to tell him she'd be late. Once she had done that and he could here laser fire in the background. So where was she?

He went to the phone and called her cell number.

"Hello, you've reached the phone of Rouge the bat. Since you got the voicemail, I'm probably on a mission. Leave me a message after the beep and I'll get back to you."

He hung up. Knuckles hated leaving messages. He called Shadow's number instead.

"Hello?" Came the familiar voice.

"Hey Shadow, it's Knuckles."

"I know. I have caller ID."

"Yeah, right, duh. Um, anyway, I can't get a hold of Rouge and she's not back yet. Is she still with you guys?"

"No, she left me and Omega hours ago. She was really glad to be headed home so I don't understand why she wouldn't be back yet."

Knuckles had a sinking feeling in his stomach. "Can you stay on the line for a second? I need to go check something."

"Sure, go ahead."

He put the phone down and ran outside to the Master Emerald alter. "Master Emerald, please, show me where Rouge is. I know you can, you showed me the Egg Carrier when I was looking for your missing pieces." He waited, and within moments the Master Emerald showed an image of Rouge tied up and slumped unconscious in the corner of dark room. "Rouge! Where is that?" In response the image zoomed away and showed a trashed building in the downtown Station Square area. "Yes! Thank you!" He felt like hugging the Emerald, but instead he ran inside and picked up the phone.

"Hey Shadow? I need you to get over here right away and watch the Master Emerald for me. I have to go save Rouge."

"Hmph. Normally I'd be really irritated with you asking me to baby-sit your Emerald, but if Rouge is in trouble I'll make an exception and come right over. What's going on?"

"Rouge has been kidnapped, and if I'm right about who did it then that guy is gonna get a serious ass kicking."

"Alright." There was a strange sound in the phone before Shadow showed up right next to Knuckles in a green flash.

He dropped the phone with a jump and sighed irritably.

"Go save your girlfriend." Shadow said as he opened the door for him to leave.

"Thanks." Knuckles said with a nod before running out. _You better not be behind this Slick._

Rouge came to and was confused for a few minutes before she remembered what had happened. "Oh damn it!" She muttered. She tried to move herself into a sitting position, but realized that wasn't happening when she noticed how tightly she was tied. It didn't feel like regular rope either, it was some kind of cord. Much stronger than rope.

"Thought ahead I see." She assessed her surroundings from the floor instead. A dark, dank room with no windows and cement walls. This and the staircase she could see told her she was most likely in a basement. "Good thing I have night vision." She thought aloud, once again glad to be a bat. The darkness probably would have unsettled someone else. She lay there for a few minutes wondering what to do next when she heard footsteps upstairs coming in her direction.

Sure enough, the door above the stairs creaked open to show Slick standing there. "Oh good, you're awake." He walked down the stairs and clicked on the single light bulb that was supposed to light the room. It wasn't very bright, but Rouge blinked hard as her eyes took a moment to adjust.

"What the hell do you want Slick?" she asked with as much hostility as she could muster.

"Same thing I wanted last time. To kill you. But after what your idiot boyfriend did to me, I want to make it as slow and painful as possible."

She glared at him. "You're the idiot."

He grinned. "You really think it's a good idea to make fun of me given your position?" He walked closer and kicked her hard in the stomach, knocking the breath from her lungs. Rouge coughed and gasped as the greasy black cat grabbed her bound arms and dragged her to the center of the room. He yanked her into an upright position and growled in her ear. "Keep on taunting me bat, resist, fight, and argue all you want. But the fact remains that I'm the one in charge right now, and everything you do is just gonna make me hurt you more."

She was slammed to the ground again with a thud. Landing on her back she stared at her captor, a mixture of fear and rage bubbling up. Reaching to the brown belt at his side, Slick pulled out a sharp silvery knife. Rouge's eyes sparked with surprised. "I thought Knuckles broke your little toy," she said with false bravado.

"He did, but I got a new one." He leaned over her menacingly. "Frankly, I'd love to just stab you right now, but I don't want you bleeding to death just yet."

For the next several minutes Rouge was kicked and thrown around the room. Slick repeatedly inflicted small, superficial cuts on her. He hardly spoke, just laughed, ridiculously pleased with his own insanity. Finally, she was back in the center of the room gasping for breath while her enemy stared maliciously down at her.

"Feeling hopeless yet?"

"Ha… You wish." She looked up to the cat and gave him a hard stare. "It doesn't matter what you do. Knuckles _is_ coming."

It was Slick's turn to look afraid before he gave a confident grin. "How do you think that moron is going to find you? He won't even know what happened let alone where you are."

She laughed. "You really don't know anything about him. I thought that stupid weasel would have explained at least a little to you."

"What are you trying to get at you stupid bat?"

"Knuckles is the Guardian of Angel Island. He has a connection to chaos energy, and the Master Emerald. He may seem clueless, but Knuckles can use that connection to find out anything he needs to know. I promise you he's already on his way."

It was clear he didn't know whether or not to believe her. So, he went with a different tactic. "And why would anyone, especially someone _so_ important, bother trying to save a worthless piece of trash like you?"

Rouge scowled in a way that made her fangs show. "Because unlike you I have friends! Unlike you, people care about me! You're the only trash in this room!"

His eyes narrowed to a deadly glare. "Bold words. They'll cost you." He kicked her in the jaw, knocking her to the ground.

She tasted blood before she even hit the floor. Spitting out what she could the young bat glared at him. She refused to let him break her spirit. She just hoped Knuckles would get there soon.

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_Ooooh, dark chapter! But you know that's just how Slick is. And Cheetay, I have successfully completed your request. The chapter only took two months, not five. :P I should actually have the next chap done soon. We just got back from vacation and with my medical stuff that means I probably won't move much for a couple days. Good news for you guys though cause I'll have more time to write. Review please?_


	4. Knux To The Rescue

_*Glances at last update* Oh... *Hides behind computer screen* Heh, so, eight months... In my defense, I'm currently in college right now so I don't always have a lot of time. Writer's block on this for a while too. But here you go guys, hope you like it.  


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_Why couldn't he fly faster? Knuckles was flying to where Rouge was supposed to be, but his worry made him impatient. He wished he could move as fast as Sonic or Shadow. He took a deep breath, wondering if Rouge was alright.

He remembered his last words to Slick. He'd said he would personally kill the cat if he hurt Rouge again. Knuckles was a man of his word, but he had never killed anyone before. For a moment, he wondered if he actually would, or more importantly _could_, kill Slick.

Then he thought of Rouge, remembered the fear in her eyes, the pain she was in the last time Slick had hurt her. Things he would never normally see on the strong, defiant, and independent batgirl. He felt the same rage as when it had originally happened. Yes, he could definitely kill Slick if he had hurt his girl again.

()()()()()()()()()

Her breath was coming in ragged gasps. Her vision was blurring from the sheer pain she was in. A few moments before Slick had kicked her in the chest and she'd felt a rib crack. It was hindering her breathing now.

"Poor little Rouge." Her tormentor mocked. "You don't sound so good. Having a hard time breathing are you?"

She couldn't even find the energy to speak. Probably from the minimized oxygen she was getting. The best she could muster was a particularly venomous glare.

Slick laughed. "Pathetic. Without your friends you're useless. I could've killed you a long time ago if you didn't always have somebody with you. It's funny actually, aren't thieves and spies supposed to be loners?"

"Already told you… not a thief," she gasped out. Speaking was ridiculously painful.

"Tch, right. You've gone straight, as if I'd believe that. You've always been one of the best, why would you ever want to quit?" He leaned over her and stared with obvious enjoyment at the pain every breath caused her. "Did you suddenly start feeling guilty? Or maybe it has something to do with your boyfriend. Afraid he won't want you anymore if you're a bad girl?"

"Shut up… moron." As grateful as she was not to be getting beaten at the moment, Rouge couldn't stand his patronizing tone as he tried to push her buttons.

Slick chuckled. He casually inflicted another knife wound on her arm, causing her to wince. "Fine, I can change the subject. What do you think I should do to you next?" He kicked Rouge over so she was laying on her stomach, this only added pressure to her broken rib. "You know, I heard that a bat's wings are very fragile."

Rouge's eyes, which had been tightly shut as she tried to bear the pain, snapped open. He wouldn't. The bones of a bat's wings are designed to bend without breaking, this meant however that if he did manage to break them they wouldn't heal as well or as quick. And the skin of her wings was extremely sensitive, covered in nerves meant to detect air flow. It would hurt much worse if he started cutting her there. He had of course tied her wings together as he had her hands, which meant it would be impossible for her to move them out of his reach.

He laughed again. "That seems like a yes. Look how tense you got just from me suggesting it. This is going to be fun." His fingers barely brushed the tip of her wing however when a loud banging sound echoed from up the stairs.

"Rouge!" A familiar voice called out.

She could have cried from sheer relief. "Knuckles." She breathed out his name like a thank you.

There was a series of banging sounds as Knuckles slammed open every door upstairs looking for her and continued to call out her name.

Slick glanced around the room as if looking for an escape as the sounds got closer.

Knuckles punched open the basement door and froze. Rouge was tied up on the floor at the bottom of the stairs. He could see bruises and blood from where he stood. His gaze shifted to Slick who stood over her, he was completely still as if hoping to melt into the background.

Knuckles let out a low, dangerous growl before launching himself down the stairs at the black cat fist first. He felt his fist collide with Slick's face as he landed. Slick staggered backward with a hand to his nose. Knuckles felt a rush of satisfaction when the green glove came away stained red from the blood rolling out of Slick's nose. Immediately he launched forward again, grabbing his opponent by the arm he spun him and threw him into the cement wall. The knife Slick had been holding flew from his hand on impact before he fell to the floor. Before he could move the echidna was on him again. Yanking the cat upright he pummeled him in the stomach repeatedly before tossing him again.

"How dare you!" Knuckles finally shouted as he advanced slowly on his downed enemy. "What the hell made you think I'd let you get away with this?"

Slick coughed as he tried to stand up. He was pulled up by the echidna again though.

Knuckles held Slick by the fur of his chest. "I should tear you apart for this, but I don't have time. Rouge needs a hospital, so I'm gonna have to end you quick." He slammed the cat into the wall and pulled back his fist ready to cave his skull in.

"Knuckles wait!" Rouge shouted then winced. Shouting was not good with her rib.

Knuckles turned his head to her but didn't drop Slick.

"Don't kill him," she said, meeting his eyes. "He's not worth it. Take him out, but don't kill him. Don't do that to yourself."

Knuckles hesitated. He wanted to kill Slick. Someone who would do to someone what he'd done to Rouge shouldn't be allowed to live. But she was right. Would he be able to live with himself if he did.

He dropped Slick, but stomped on his leg, snapping the bone. "That'll keep you here until the police show up." He turned his attention away from the moaning cat and went to undo the cord that bound Rouge.

"You're going to be okay," he whispered to her as he untied her and carefully rolled her over to face him. "I'm going to get you to the doctor as fast as I can."

Rouge pushed her face into his chest fur as he lifted her into his arms. "You sound like you're trying… to reassure yourself." She could still hardly breathe. "But I trust you."

Knuckles gave her a soft smile and pulled out his cell phone as he carried her up the stairs and out of the house. Running in the direction of the nearest hospital he dialed 911 and quickly told them the address of Slick's house. "You'll find a cat in the basement. He's a thief and a kidnapper with a prior record." He made the conversation as short as he could and picked up speed. The sooner he got to the hospital, the sooner Rouge's wounds could be treated.

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_I kinda feel like that's an awkward chapter end. Not sure why. So you can actually thank SonicSong182 over on YouTube for me finally updating. I ran across their Ask the Sonic Heroes videos and suddenly really wanted to play some Sonic. Then I was sick today so I was playing SA2B chao garden, then I looked up Knuckles and Rouge fan art on DeviantART. And now you get this. There will be one more chapter and I swear it won't take near as long as this did. Reviews are appreciated._


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